Medieval philosophy Medieval philosophy is the philosophy

Medieval philosophy

Medieval philosophy is the philosophy in the era now known as medieval or the Middle Ages, the period roughly extending from the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5 th century C. E. to the Renaissance in the 16 th century. Medieval philosophy, understood as a project of independent philosophical inquiry, began in Baghdad, in the middle of the 8 th century, and in France, in the itinerant court of Charlemagne, in the last quarter of the 8 th century.

The history of medieval philosophy is traditionally divided into two main periods: the period in the Latin West following the Early Middle Ages until the 12 th century, when the works of Aristotle and Plato were preserved and cultivated and the 'golden age' of the 12 th, 13 th and 14 th centuries in the Latin West, which witnessed the culmination of the recovery of ancient philosophy, along with a reception of its Arabic commentators, and significant developments in the field of. Philosophy of religion, Logic and Metaphysics.

Medieval philosophy is characteristically theological: With the possible exceptions of Avicenna and Averroes, medieval thinkers did not consider themselves philosophers at all. Their concerns are theological: For them, the philosophers were the ancient pagan writers such as Plato and Aristotle. [4]

However, theological works of medieval writers use the ideas and logical techniques of the ancient philosophers to address difficult theological questions, and points of doctrine. Thomas Aquinas, following Peter Damian, argued that philosophy is the handmaiden of theology (ancilla theologiae).

The boundaries of the early medieval period are a matter of controversy. [9] It is generally agreed that it begins with Augustine (354 – 430) who strictly belongs to the classical period, and ends with the lasting revival of learning in the late eleventh century, at the beginning of the high medieval period

Ethics Philosophy of mind Theology Metaphysics Natural philosophy Logic

The period from the middle of the eleventh century to the middle of the fourteenth century is known as the 'High medieval' or 'scholastic' period. It is generally agreed to begin with Saint Anselm of Canterbury (1033– 1109) an Italian philosopher, theolo gian, and church official who is famous as the originator of the ontological argument for the existence of God.

Patristics or Patrology is the study of the Early Christian writers who are designated Church Fathers. The names derive from the combined forms of Latin pater and Greek patḗr (father). The period is generally considered to run from the end of New Testament times or end of the Apostolic Age (c. AD 100) to either AD 451 (the date of the Council of Chalcedon), [1] or to the 8 th century Second Council of Nicaea.

Major focuses for these theologians during the period are in chronological order: Christianity's relationship with Judaism; the establishment of the New Testament Canon; Apologetics ('defense' or 'explanation' of Christianity); and doctrinal discussions that sought to achieve consistency of faith, in particular within the Christianised Roman Empire. [3] Following the scholar of Christianity Alister Mc. Grath (1998), several major areas of theology can be seen to have developed during the Patristic Period: the extent of the New Testament Canon, the role of tradition, the fixing of the ecumenical creeds, the Two Natures of Christ, the doctrine of the Trinity, the doctrine of the Church, and the doctrine of Divine grace.

Ignatius of Antioch (c. 35 -c. 108), Pope Clement I (c. 1 st century AD-c. 101), Justin Martyr (c. 100 -c. 165), Irenaeus of Lyons (c. 120 -c. 202), Clement of Alexandria (c. 150 -c. 215), Tertullian (c. 160 -c. 225), Origen (c. 185 -c. 254), Cyprian of Carthage (d. 258), Athanasius (c. 296 -c. 373), Gregory of Nazianzus (329 -389), Basil of Caesarea (c. 330 -379), Gregory of Nyssa (c. 330 -c. 395) Theodore of Mopsuestia (c. 350 -428), Jerome (347 -430), Augustine of Hippo (354 -430), Pelagius, Vincent of Lérins (d. bef. 450), Cyril of Alexandria (d. 444), Nestorius (died c. 451). [2] Maximus the Confessor (580 -662) Isaac of Nineveh (d. 700)